"Avocado consumption is associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake, and lower metabolic syndrome risk in US adults."--Research
If you are searching for what is the best fruit to add to your diet, avocado is the answer. Avocado is considered to be one of nature's super-foods with numerous health benefits. As one of the most nutritious fruits, it contains more than 150 minerals, vitamins and enzymes that are good for our body. It is also rich in protein, which is essential for our muscles and bones. Despite its notoriety for exaggerated medical claims about it, there is no denying the health benefits it contains to make even healthier. Research conducted by Victor L Fulgoni III, Mark Dreher & Adrienne J Davenport found out that "Avocado consumption is associated with better diet quality and nutrient intake, and lower metabolic syndrome risk in US adults."
"Recent researches have shown that avocado may improve hypercholesterolemia and may be useful in the treatment of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This way, avocado plays an important role in the cardiovascular health. This review summarizes the potential benefits of avocado consumption in the prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic diseases."--Avocado and Cardiovascular Health, Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases
Here are some interesting health benefits of avocado:
1. Avocado is an excellent source of vitamins A, D, E and K which are fat-soluble vitamins. It is essential for providing protein to our body and is known to aid poor digestion. It is also an excellent source of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure. It is also known to increase your fighting chance against diabetes.
2. Since Avocado contains vitamin A, it can help prevent the development of age-related macular degeneration. Being rich in vitamin D, it is essential for bone health and is necessary for healthy teeth and bones. Seeing that it is rich in vitamin B and E, eating avocado can help slow down the development of age-related eye diseases.
3. Studies show that eating avocados helps reduce the risk of stroke. This is because substances and nutrients in avocados prevent clogging of arteries and improves cardiovascular and heart functions. It also helps prevent the formation of plaque in arteries, which can cause atherosclerosis, a condition that is very dangerous and risky.
4. Avocados has become a popular ingredient in some prescription drugs such as Accutane, "is a powerful drug used in the treatment of acne". Because of its high oleic acid content, avocados is believed to have similar effects like Accutane. Aside from this, avocado is beneficial to our liver because it is an excellent source of dietary fiber, which helps cleansing they system from unwanted toxins. Some findings discovered that it can help in keeping the body away from colon complications.
Some claims that Avocados aids in lowering the total amount of calories we eat. But the question still remains whether there really is any effect on one's weight. The answer is yes and no. Yes, since avocados contain lots of fiber, it helps reduce the total calories in our body. However, since fiber is not that effective in reducing the calories, it may only result in minimal weight reduction, not weight loss.
No, since most of avocado contains saturated fat. Saturated fat is negatively affects our health, so if you want to reap the benefits of avocados, make sure you don't eat too much of it. So if consumption of the fruit must be in right amount.
Concluding remarks
In conclusion, many types of plant foods have a role to play in health. Avocado is one of those healthy ones that have been widely considered as a superfood. As mentioned earlier, this fruit from south of Mexico is rich in nutritional benefits that have been scientifically proven. It is rich in vitamins A, D, and E. Avocado can help in improving cardiovascular health and it can also lower bad cholesterol levels.
Tell us about your avocado story on the comment section below.
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